Tag Archives: Andrew Gower

Andrew Christopher Gower is one of the richest young entrepreneurs today, yet only a few know him. He rarely gives out interviews, and the international media doesn’t mind. Online, there’s nothing much to read about him. It’s amazing how he was able to keep his life away from the eye of the press when he had over £113 million – that’s about$174 million – in his pocket. And that was way back in 2008.

To those who don’t know him, Gower is the lead developer and co-founder of Jagex, Ltd., a Java-based game creator and distributor. Gaming geeks may be familiar with the MMORPG game RuneScape, which he personally created while still a student at Cambridge. It wasn’t the first game he created though; Gower has been into programming since he was seven. He knew he wanted a career in computer games by the age of 10. After engaging in programming for years, he built Jagex with his brother Paul Gower and friend Constant Tedder.

Was it difficult for him to transcend from being a programmer to company owner? Yes, so much so that he decided to let go of his position as a member of the board of directors last year. He remains only as the principal architect, but the company will forever be his brainchild.

His decision to let go of the reigns is probably due to his extremely private persona. In an exclusive interview, Grower commented on being on the Sunday Times Rich List every year. He never liked it, he said. He wished people focused more on the games he created rather than himself. It was never really about the money for him. It was all about his passion. Having been named as one of UK’s richest young entrepreneurs, Grower said that he did not aim to make millions out of creating games. Wealth only followed, to his surprise.

To those aspiring to be like him, his advice is to create realistic goals and stick to what they have passion for.